Summer is supposed to be a slow time - yeah, right. Gearing up for vacations and day trips, and the general buzz of outdoor activity, means less time, or less desire to spend it in the kitchen.

Yet the season's excursions can often leave day revelers wanting a solid meal at nightfall. Planning a trip to one of the Bay Area's amusement parks, home of funnel cakes and french fries? Eight hours later, watch out for a craving for comfort food (like pasta) and vegetables (like these no-cook sauces).

The great part is that once you get the timing down, it's not hard to whip up a simple pasta dinner that takes about as long to prepare as the pasta takes to cook. A quick green salad, a loaf of whole-grain bread and some fruit for dessert counter the junk-food high.

Related Stories

The idea behind no-cook pasta sauces is easy: Use a few simple high-quality ingredients. The heat from the noodles smooths out the edges, and the vegetables can be raw, or popped into the pasta water minutes before the noodles are drained.

Most no-cook sauce recipes are adaptable to changing the types of vegetables. Just make sure that all the vegetables can be eaten raw or with just a few seconds of cooking.

The Penne with Basil Cream gets a Provencal touch with slender green beans and tart cherry tomatoes, but feel free to add an all-American element with fresh corn cut from the cob and boiled slightly with the pasta.

I've been making the No-Cook Tomato Sauce for ages. It was the first pasta sauce I ever made from scratch. Now I know that the secret is in the quality of tomatoes and seeking out a delicious, slightly grassy olive oil. Bariani, a California-based olive oil producer, is my top choice.

In this recipe, the tomatoes are plunged briefly into the pasta water to loosen the skins. After a quick dunk in ice water, peel the skins off and tear the tomatoes into rustic chunks with your fingers.

This sauce can be made the day before so the flavors can fully develop and blend, though bring it to room temperature before using. If the sauce is too cold, put it in a heatproof bowl and stick it over the boiling pasta water for a few minutes to warm.

If you put by, as I'll be doing this tomato season, this recipe could be made throughout the year from a larder stocked with a single summer day's work.

Sneak vegetables like zucchini, spinach or arugula into creamy sauces for extra nutrients - simply grate them or stir into the hot pasta.

Don't skimp on the fat - a healthy glug of olive oil is essential. Not only does it moisten the noodles, but it helps to blend and spread the flavors.

Here are a few other ideas for quick sauces for about one pound of pasta. All of these no-cook sauces are vegetarian, some are vegan, and none should take more than 30 minutes from the time you put the water on to boil. The recipes can be doubled easily for lunch the next day and eaten hot or cold.

Salsa Verde: In a blender or food processor, blend 1 bunch of parsley leaves, 1/2 bunch chopped scallions, 1/2 bunch mint leaves, 1 lemon (zest and juice), a pinch of red pepper flakes, 1/4 cup rinsed salted capers and enough oil to blend into a loose paste. Add pine nuts and toss with hot pasta as a great side to a larger meal or a light lunch with salad and bread.

Grown-up Mac 'n' Cheese: Boil chopped broccoli with the pasta for the last few minutes; drain, toss in a bowl with goat cheese, a pat of butter, a little pasta water, salt, pepper and chopped chives. Substitute grated zucchini for broccoli, or use both. Or, substitute blue cheese for the goat cheese.

Pasta con Salsa Cruda

This is for peak-of-season tomatoes. You need only cook the pasta, but it's important to have the sauce at room temperature so the whole dish doesn't cool off too quickly.

8 large ripe tomatoes

1 pound pasta, dried or fresh

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 cup good-quality olive oil

1 shallot, sliced very thin

-- Salt and freshly cracked pepper

-- Lemon juice, as needed

1/4 cup mint leaves, torn into small pieces

-- Grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Instructions: Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Have a bowl filled with ice water next to the stove.

Core each tomato by cutting a cone-shaped hole out of the stem side, and cut an X into the bottom. Plunge into the boiling water, allow to cook for 1-2 minutes, until skin starts peeling away, and then pull out with tongs or slotted spoon and plunge into ice water. Do this for each tomato, peeling off the skin after it cools down. Keep the large pot of boiling water on the stove and salt generously.

Pull apart the peeled tomatoes with your hands into bite-size pieces, or chop the tomatoes coarsely and put into a large bowl. Add the garlic, olive oil, shallot, salt and pepper. Balance the sweetness of the tomatoes with lemon juice.

Cook the pasta in the boiling water according to package directions, until al dente. (If using fresh pasta, make sure it's cooked through, but still with some bite.) Drain, reserving a little pasta water for thinning if needed, and put hot pasta on top of the tomatoes. Add mint and toss, adjusting seasoning with salt and pepper, if needed.

Feel free to pass cheese with this, but if the tomatoes are really, really good, it's not necessary.